Center Point diesel parts retailer among those to sign EPA settlement over defeat devices

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with three companies, including a Center Point diesel parts retailer, over installing or selling illegal devices that disable emission controls and allow a vehicle user to pollute the air.

Black Widow Diesel, of Center Point; Banghart Diesel Performance, of Wahoo, Neb.; and Voodoo Diesel, an online retailer based in Raymore, Mo., agreed to pay cumulative penalties of $86,000, destroy their inventories of defeat devices and never again sell or install devices that disable vehicle emission controls, the EPA reported Monday.

“Modifying auto emissions impedes federal, state, and local efforts to implement air quality standards that protect public health,” Wendy Lubbe, acting director of EPA Region 7 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, said in a prepared statement. “EPA is committed to enforce the law against businesses involved in these illegal and harmful practices.”

Tampering with vehicle engines, including installation of aftermarket defeat devices intended to bypass manufacturer emissions controls, results in significantly higher releases of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, both of which contribute to serious public health problems in the United States, the EPA reported.

These problems include premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, aggravation of existing asthma, acute respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis and decreased lung function. Numerous studies also link diesel exhaust to increased incidence of lung cancer.

Stopping aftermarket defeat devices for vehicles and engines is a top priority for the EPA. The agency identified this goal as one of six National Compliance Initiatives in 2019. In fiscal 2021, the agency resolved 40 civil enforcement cases, the EPA reported online.

Black Widow did not immediately return a Gazette call for comment on the settlement.

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com